Teen Pleads Guilty to Sex Assault on Fellow Teen, Avoids Jail Time

A Canadian teenager admitted to his role in the sexual assault of a fellow male boarding school classmate in a hotel room during a 2007 class trip to Boston, the Boston Globe reported.

Armin Ruzbie, 19, of Ottawa, pleaded guilty in Suffolk Superior Court to one count of assault and battery. He was sentenced to four years’ of probation and was ordered to undergo an evaluation for possible sex offender and bullying treatment. He must also stay away from the victim and his family, except during legal proceedings in a civil suit pending in Canada, among other conditions.

Before sentencing, prosecutors told the court that on the night of Nov. 16, 2007, Ruzbie and three classmates from Ashbury College in Ottawa, a private school, entered the victim’s room at the Midtown Hotel, near the Prudential Center. The victim was 16 at the time; Ruzbie was 17, and a codefendant was 16.

Ruzbie’s codefendant allegedly held the victim while Ruzbie pulled his pants down and touched him inappropriately and said, “Take it.” Another student recorded the assault on videotape. Ruzbie called the victim’s hotel room later that night and said, “It’s just a joke,” prosecutors said. A codefendant faces identical charges and is scheduled to appear in Boston Juvenile Court next month. The other two students who entered the room were not charged.

The victim and members of his family were in court yesterday for Ruzbie’s plea. Wearing a blue suit, he read an impact statement before Ruzbie was sentenced, saying the assault took a toll on his entire family.

“You’ve done something horrible and sick, and you must pay for it,” the victim said, leaning forward on the witness stand and looking directly at Ruzbie. The Globe does not name victims of sexual assault or their relatives. Ruzbie apologized in court for his actions.

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